Pete Ryan’s over-sized full page illustration for Leap Magazine sends a message of hope to those dealing with the emotional and physical harshness of cancer. Sometimes talking about it - sharing your story - is the best was to deal with the pain.

“Across the road from the farm where I grew up there was a long field, backed up against another field - in the wintertime it becomes this expanse of bleak snow, with only a few trees breaking up the landscape,” says Pete. “Remembering how that specific area made me feel set the tone for the piece and seemed like the proper setting for cancer. I thought about how spring always eventually came, and with it life and energy. Having the figure’s lines of speech BE spring seemed like a perfect way to show the power that speech has.”